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World of Warcraft - Karazhan Crypt Beta
(This is the first creepypasta that I chose to publish. I'd appreciate some feedback and ways to make the story better. Thank you and enjoy the read.) The Story Do you know about the Karazhan Crypt? Probably not, seeing as how obscure it is. Basically, it's a crypt filled with skeletons, burial mounds, that sort of thing near the tower called Karazhan in the Role-Playing Game World of Warcraft. It has become infamous for how creepy it is and th e disturbing content hidden within, the prime example being the Upside-Down Sinners, a large underwater area filled with upside-down corpses tied to hooks and chains which has received the title of the "most disturbing area in the game" from some. To add to the mystery, the Crypt was blocked off by a large gate. For some context, a few years ago, I think back in The Burning Crusade, I had a friend named Shawn. Shawn was a good and pretty talented kid. He could leak and/or recreate earlier versions of games like Everquest through the database. His father, whose name I've since forgotten, was also a pretty good programmer. For a short time, maybe four or so patches, he worked on World of Warcraft during the beta. From what I know, he only left because he later found a job with higher pay. During his time working on World of Warcraft, he used to tell his son about "hidden features" that weren't listed in patch notes and were instead left for the players to find. Apparently, on the last day on the job, he was told that these features would be removed to clear some space and that the GMs were certain that nobody would find most of these secrets. Anyways, back in The Burning Crusade, my friend was cleaning out his dad's old laptop and found the Warcraft 0.8 Beta. In the data folder, he found an MQX folder called "TestPatch." Interested, he dug into the file and discovered some things he thought I'd enjoy. I myself am a Warcraft fanatic, after all. Here's the Email he sent me: "Hi! Was cleaning up my dad's old laptop and found a beta version of WoW I don't think anyone else documented. I think you'll really dig this: (file download was here.)" When I first received this Email, I was pretty excited. I was about to play a beta version of World of Warcraft lost to time. I quickly Emailed a thank-you in response and clicked on the file to download it. It took a few minutes, 2007 connection and all, but thankfully it wasn't bordering days or hours. When I first opened the beta file, I noticed a "README" text file which I promply clicked on. It was written by my friend and explained how to start up the server and log in to the only account he could gather, that being his dad's old account. I did so, and before I knew it, I was in. When I first logged in, I was surprised to see that there were no characters. Maybe my friend's dad only worked on it and didn't play it? I didn't really care, I only wanted to see the beta. I recreated my orc shaman MasterCaster, laughing a little at the horrible models, and entered the world for the first time. The first thing I noticed was the lack of quests. Normally, Kaltunk would give you the first quest you'd recieve as an orc or troll that sent you to talk to Gornek. That quest wasn't there, as was Kaltunk. The second noticeable difference was my character's model. It wasn't much, but the animations were different and choppier compared to the live model. The third thing I noticed was that I was a GM, meaning that I could change my speed, teleport, spawn NPCs, and other GM-only commands. I summoned a few NPCs, changed my level to an absurd amount and generally explored the world. After some time of exploring Kalimdor, I wanted to explore Eastern Kingdoms so, with the help of the famous Captain Placeholder who was stationed at Ractchet, I was presented a loading screen and was in Booty Bay. I raided Stormwind, killing what few helpless guards were inside, and decided that Darkshire would be my next target once the kingdom had been wiped out. When I entered Duskwood, I noticed something strange. There was a large shadow near the eastern end of the zone. The shadow resembled a tower, with the shapes of spikes and domes visible. I followed the shadow, entering Deadwind Pass when I noticed it. The giant, Japanese original Karazhan at least twice the size of the current tower. I'll be honest, I was in awe and thought that my friend added this in as some kind of joke, but then how come it looked so authentic? Did my friend just use in-game textures? Was this tower made up of multiple models? I never got a good look inside to possibly confirm any of my questions though, as when I climbed the ramp, I noticed that the gate leading into the tower was blocked off, and behind it a dungeon portal. My curiosity was peaked, I wanted to know what was inside so bad. I tried leaping onto exposed parts of the tower, climbing the mountains around it and jumping, but to no avail. After one of my attempts, I hit the side of the tower as the last few and landed in a graveyard nearby a decrepit church. I turned my character around and I saw it. A dark stone tunnel surrounded by ruins leading underground. The Karazhan Crypt. Seeing as I wouldn't be getting into the tower anytime soon, I took a screenshot, turned up my brightness and entered the Crypt. When I entered the Crypt, it was darker than the one you see on live. It made me think of early Duskwood designs where it was so dark that you could only see a yard or two without a torch. As you might expect, I was a bit nervous, but there was no reason to be. I could kill anything that attacked me with a single command, even delete them. But despite my character being a literal god, I was still wondering if I should turn back. The gate preventing me from entering was clickable, allowing me to open it and enter. As in the current version, I started in the Well of the Forgotten, a large rectangular room with a pit to your west and a tunnel to your north. I don't know what, but something inside of me was telling me not to jump down that pit. You can take fall damage and possibly die, true, but I was a GM. I shouldn't be afraid. I went down the tunnel, passing by the open graves filled with the bones of the dead, and entered the large burial mound. When I first entered the room, I heard a moan. It sounded like one of Thaddius's screams but slowed down and deepen. I jumped when I heard this. "What was that?" I said to myself. I noticed brown text appear at the bottom-left corner of my computer screen, which read: "A moan echoes throughout the crypt." I was afraid now and began to run for the exit. I would've teleported out, but I unfortunately didn't know any coordinates to go to. I was close to reaching the Well of the Forgotten, passing the crossroads when I suddenly heard a thundering roar and I entered combat. I turned and saw it. The thing that would haunt my dreams for days afterwards. A huge wight named The Creature. Its bones and flesh were exposed, some bones covered in dried blood. The thing's rib cage was protruding from its chest, which had the muscle exposed. Its eyes, which had long since rolled back into their sockets, were glowing a bright yellow glow creating a stark contrast from the darkness of the Crypt. The two bolts jutting out of the sides of its head resembled a demon's horns in the darkness. All of this, combined with the eerie way it crawled across the stone floor towards me, caused me to run in a disoriented panic. I didn't even know where I was going, I just ran away. In seconds, I outran the beast. "Jesus Christ..." I said to myself. I was still in combat, but thankfully it was a safe distance away from me. I looked around, only to realize where I was. I was in the Upside-down Sinners. I immediately tabbed out and closed the game. Fuck it. What the hell even was that?! After a few minutes of getting it together, I called my friend, demanding an explanation. He said he didn't know that feature was even in the game, claiming that "it might've been one of the hidden features." Confused, I asked him about it, and he went on to explain about the mentioned unlisted secrets by his father and other developers. I know why it was closed off from the rest of the game. Whatever the purpose of The Creature was I may never know. Perhaps it was a planned world boss? I don't know, and honestly, I don't want to find out. The file is somewhere on my computer, likely in a long-forgotten folder, collecting dust. If you ever enter the Karazhan Crypts, take caution. It might still be inside, waiting for its next victim. Category:Video Games Category:World of Warcraft Category:Creepypasta